Gas water heater



Sept. 33, 1941. I D, DUFAUVIL-T 2,257,721

- GAS WATER HEATER Filed Nov. 25, .1940

INVENTOR.

. a abfwgf Patented Sept. 30, 1941 w UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE GAS WATER HEATER Homer D. Dufault, Easthampton, Mass, assignor to Holyoke Heater Company, Holyoke, Mass a corporation of Massachusetts V Application November 25, 1940, Serial No. 367,037

3 Claims. (01. 122-356 This invention relates to improvements in gas water heaters and is directed more particularly to the "provision of a novel heater construction adapted for use in the compartment of a kitchen-range or the like;

It is oneof the principal objects of the invention to provide a unitary gas water-heater construction which is compact and simple in form and which may be readily inserted in and removed from a compartment of a gas range or electric stove. The arrangement is such that the water may circulate back and forth above a burner device in such a way as to take the utmost advantage of the products of combustion so that the water is heated more quickly and. efliciently than has heretofore been possible.

By'reason of its special construction, the unit of my invention may be out of sight since it may be placed in the compartment of a range or stove, as stated. As will be obvious, too, it

may be readily and efiiciently used as a socalled side-arm heater.

It has also been an objection in gas waterheaters of ordinary construction that corrosive elements in the gas combustion products have reacted unfavorably on the tubes of "copper, bronze, and such other non-ferrous metals as are commonly found in conventional apparatuses. The reaction necessitates frequent cleaning in order to obtain any degree of efficiency and such cleaning is only accomplished with great difficulty. As a special feature of this invention, the water-containing parts are preferably formed of a material which is not as unfavorably affected as the metals above referred to.

With the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become .more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a side-elevational view of a unit embodying the features of the invention with parts broken away for clearness;

Fig. 2 isa sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and l i Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig; 2 showing a modified form ofthe invention.

Referring now to the drawing more in detail, the invention will be fully described.

A water-compartment member is indicated generally by 2 and this is disposed within the upper side of a U-shaped casing generally designated by 4. Said casing may obviously vary in size or form but as shown includes spaced vertically-extending side walls E connected at their upper sides by a horizontal top wall 8.

According to thepreferred form of this invention, opposite ends. of the casing are closed by cap-like members including vertically-extending plates IU of such size. shape as to extend between "the walls 6 and marginal flange portions l2which overlap, or at least lie adjacent, the walls 6 and 8. The flanges may be secured. in place, after the assembly about to be described is complete, in any suitable manner, as by bolts, as indicated in the drawing, welding, or the like.

A flue is provided somewhere in the casing, that is in either side or end or in the top. According to the disclosure, however, the flue is indicated by M and it extends upwardly from the upper wall 8 of the casing.

The member 2 includes a hollowed body 18, usually a casting having upper, lower, side and end walls, as shown, the front end wall being designated by the numeral 22. This body is somewhat elongated and preferably more or less narrow vertically as shown and it is located near the top of the casing.

Extending rearwardly from the end wall 22 between the side walls, and intermediate the upper and lowerwalls, of the body is a partition wall 24. This member 24 stops short of connection with the rear wall of "the body so as to provide a passageway 26' which permits communication between the lower'part of the body and its upper part.

Bosses having plugs 26 may be provided in the rear wall of the body as shown to facilitate cleaning and these bosses may extend through openings in the wall H) of the casing. Also I may provide bosses 28 on the front wall of member [8 which will extend through spaced openings in the casings front wall. An inlet pipe '30 extends into the lower boss 28 which, as shown, is in communication with the lower side of the hollow member [8 while an outlet pipe extends outwardly from the upper boss 28. Thus, it will be appreciated, water may flow through the inlet 30 and into the lower horizontal passageway of the body, that isthe part below thev partition wall, up the vertical passageway 26', down through the upper horizontal passageway above the partition and out outlet 32.

The inlet 30 is, of course, the cold water inlet and port 32 is the hot-water outlet. A gas burner device indicated generally by B, is carried by the casing in the lower part thereof and it is preferably of the finned-tube type.

According to the preferred form of the invention shown the body is provided with a plurality of spaced fin members 25 which extend radially from the sides and bottom, at least, thereof. These fins preferably are of such size heat to the water circulating through the passageways. In this way maximum heating effect is obtained.

The construction has the further advantage of being unitary and substantially joint-less. sagging and warping are prevented.

. According to the modification shown in Fig. 3,

Thus

there is a casing 40 similar to the casing 4 having a hollowed body 18' therein substantially like the member 18 which was described above in detail. Burner device Bfis below the Watercontaining member and there is a flue chamber having a side wall 44 and upper and lower walls 46, the chamber and casing being in communication with one another and so arranged, in such a manner as shown, that the products of combustion may pass upwardly around and over the body I8, and into the flue chamber in the direction of the arrows shown, passing out from the latter through the opening shown therein.

The construction just described is obviously more adaptable for use in connection with heaters of the so-called side-arm type, while although not necessarily so.. It will be seen that the hollowed body member I8' has a partition 24', similar to the wall 24 of member [8, and it will be understood that the internal construction thereof is substantially the same.

Manifestly the specificdetails of construction may be considerably varied from those herein shown and described without involvingany departure from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages inherent therein. While I have described my. invention in this specification in great detail and particularly with respect to the present preferred form thereof, it is not desired to be limited thereto since many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefrom to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A unitary water-heating assembly adapted to be inserted in and removable from a compartment of a-stove-range comprising in combination, a. casing having top, side and end walls providing upper water member and lower burner spaces with one of said walls provided with a flueoutlet, a burner in the low-er space of the casing, a hll0w longitudinally extending water member having top, side, end and bottom walls, means associated with the end walls of said member extending through the end walls of the casing supporting said member in the upper part of the casing with its end walls adjacent the end walls of the casing and the top and side walls thereof spaced from corresponding walls of said casing, fins spaced longitudinal of the water member extending from its top and side walls terminating closely adjacent the adjacent walls of the casing co-operating with the side and top walls of said casing and member and forming separate passageways at the top and.

' opposite sidesfof the member in commumcation with said burner space of the casing, and water connections at top and bottom of one end wall of said water member.

2. A unitary water-heating assembly adapted to be inserted in and removable from a compartment of a stove-range comprising in combination, a. casing having top, side and end walls providing upper water member and lower burner spaces with one of said walls provided with a flue outlet, a burner in the lower space of the casing, a hollow longitudinally extendingwater member having top, side, end and bottom walls, means associated with the end walls of said member extending through the end walls of the casing supporting said member in the upper part of the casing with its end walls adjacent the end walls of the casing and the top and side walls thereof spaced from corresponding walls of said casing, fins spaced longitudinal of the water member extending from its top and side walls terminating closely adjacent the adjacent walls of the casing co-operating with the side and top walls of said casing and member and forming separate passageways at the top and opposite sides of the member in communication with said burner space of the casing, water connections at top and bottom of one end wall of said water member, and a partition in the water member extending from said one end wall between the side walls thereof terminating at a distance from the other end wall.

3. A unitary water-heating assembly adapted to be inserted in and removable from a compartment of a stove-range comprising in combination, a casing having top, side and end walls providing upper water member and lower burn er spaces with one of said walls provided with a flue outlet, a burner in the lower space of the casing, a hollow longitudinally extending water member having top, side, end and bottom walls, means associated with the end walls of said member extending through the end walls of the casing supporting said member in the upper part of the casing with its end walls adjacent the end walls of the casing and the top and side walls thereof spaced from corresponding walls of said casing, fins spaced longitudinal of the water member extending from its top and side walls terminating closely adjacent the adjacent walls of the casing co-operating with the side and top walls of said casing and member and forming separate passageways at the top and opposite sides of the member in communication with said burner space of the casing, water connections at top and bottom of one end wallof said water member, and a wall extending from a wall of the casing along the water member closing the passageways at one. side of the water member at the ends thereof in communication with the burner space.

HOMER D. DUFAUL' I. 

